Ugly Little Deceptions
by Leprechaun's Fairy
Summary: Just days after CeCe was arrested a DNA test proved that she was, in fact, not Charles DiLaurentis but she did tell authorities where to find the real Charles's remains. Five years later CeCe is dead and all the lies start to unravel including the big one: Charles is still alive and kicking. And even though she's dead CeCe is kicking back.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: Yes I, like many fanfiction authors before me, am changing the Charles storyline we've been presented with. I am not doing so because I'm against the transgender storyline in any way but I am against how the writers and producers handled the Charles thing in general. There were far too many plotlines and to me it will only make sense if the upcoming seasons go in a direction such as the one I'll be positing here. I am trying to fact check as much as possible and I apologize if is crew anything up.**

 **So here goes the little the first installment.**

* * *

April 25th, 2017

She smiled when he stepped into her room. He was the third visitor she'd had in the five years since the State of Pennsylvania had declared her mentally insane and had her sent to the Torrance State Hospital.

At first he didn't say a word. He just pulled out a chair and stared at her as she sat at her desk.

"Did I do something wrong?" she finally whispered.

"They haven't figured out it's me yet so obviously not. You're such a good girl. I just wish…" he trailed off, looking wistful.

"You wish what?"

He sighed and finally met her piercing gaze. "I'm getting married in a couple of months. I wish you could be there but obviously you won't be able to attend. I just wanted you to hear it from me before the press gets a hold of the news. I know you still keep tabs on the girls."

She nodded but inside she was seething. How dare he do this after everything she'd done for him? She was here in this place because of him, because he'd implied that they could be together once all was said and done. She couldn't just let him do this.

Only she couldn't hide her feelings from him, she'd never been able to. But before she could do or say anything he shot out of his chair and was right next to her, his front pressed against her the back of her chair.

She felt the pressure as he slid the needle into a vein in her arm and she knew what he'd done. It was all over for her but not for him, not yet. He'd have covered his tracks. No one would know he'd killed her.

Good thing she'd left the diary in the library and had told her friend Courtney what to do with it if she died.

When her body went limp in the chair he deftly transferred to her bed and tucked the covers up under her chin in a mockery of care. He wiped down everything he'd touched and then knelt down next to the bed, smiling when she struggled to open her eyes. "See you in hell, CeCe," he whispered.

She had just enough breath to issue one last thing. Two words, a question she would never have answered.

"Charles…why?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: I'm sorry this took so long to post but it takes forever to get something up when you hand write first, then have to type and edit! Plus I've actually had a social life recently which doesn't happen often for me.**

 **Well, I hope you enjoy this little calm before the storm.**

* * *

May 19th, 2017

Even though Spencer Hastings was twenty-four years old, a grown woman with a degree and a career, she ran to the door like an excited twelve year old when the doorbell rang. Fortunately her mother wasn't around to see her behave so childishly but then again, why did it matter? This weekend was about her, not her mother.

She pulled the door open and there they were, all four of them. Aria Montgomery, Hanna Marin, Emily Fields and the former Alison DiLaurentis, now Alison Rollins.

"How did you all get here at the same time?" Spencer asked as she hugged them one by one.

"Weird timing, I guess," Emily said as Spencer ushered them into the house.

It was weird timing what with Hanna coming from New York City, Aria from Boston, Emily from Pittsburgh, and Ali from her house next door. Hell even Spencer had only arrived from Philly an hour earlier. But then again it certainly wasn't the oddest thing that had happened to them.

The thought had Spencer rifling through her bags until she found the bottles of wine. "Red or white?" she asked.

"Red," Ali and Aria chorused.

"Should we really start drinking before we even figure out what we're ordering for dinner?" Hanna asked. "Especially you Spencer. You don't want to look hung over at your bridal shower tomorrow."

Spencer literally waved away Hanna's concern with one hand while she poured wine into glasses with the other. "There is no way I'll look bad tomorrow, not when I'm wearing a Hanna Marin original and matching accessories. Plus Aria's taking pictures so my scrapbooks will be perfect too."

Aria beamed as she took her glass of wine and turned to the blonde fashion designer. "Since when have you questioned wine?"

The rest of the girls also turned to face Hanna and she blushed. "Okay, okay. I wasn't going to say anything yet because this is Spencer's weekend but if you insist…"

"Oh, I insist," Spencer said. "Actually I don't just insist, I demand. And you have to honor the demands of the bride-to-be during a bridal shower weekend."

Hanna's eyes lit up and her hands fluttered over her stomach. "Well let's just put it this way. In about six months you all need to get your butts to NYC because I'll have a little one who needs to meet his or her aunties."

The hugging and squeals started up again only centered around Hanna instead of Spencer. (The bride was secretly thrilled. She'd had enough attention to last a lifetime or two. Maybe even three). "Congratulations Han," she whispered as they pulled out of the hugs and migrated towards the living room. After Spencer had filled a wine glass with juice for the pregnant blonde.

Ali took a big swig of her wine as she sat down. "How exactly have you kept his from the media?"

Aria snorted her agreement to the question. "Yes. I've long given up on every having a secret ever again and here you are carrying a big one."

And it was true. Ever since the first A debacle with Mona the so-called Liars had been in the limelight, they just hadn't known how much until CeCe's trial. That had led them to discover the countless social media accounts that had followed their every move and had been for years. It was no wonder CeCe had been able to be everywhere what with half of Rosewood tracking them for her, reporting on where they were and what they were wearing.

The media coverage had only gotten worse when the DNA results had concluded that CeCe was not a DiLaurentis. The girls had been in a panic (was the real Charles still out there?) but then CeCe owned up to killing him and the Feds had found enough evidence to believe her. The girls had been deemed safe to leave just in time for their respective college orientations.

Yet still, five years later, they had to deal with the media, especially on the anniversaries of the special events in their lives and there were so many. The anniversary of Ali's funeral, Mona's apprehension, CeCe's trial. All led to invasive "where are they now" TV segments and articles. Nothing was secret. Hell, even photos of Ali's high security, backyard wedding had been leaked online mere minutes after her "I dos."

Hanna shrugged. "Good luck I guess. What about you, Spence? I wasn't attacked by reporters outside. Other than Aria of course."

"I'm not a reporter, I'm a freelancer," Aria protested. "I don't have to be pushy and invasive unless I want to be."

Spencer sighed and leaned back into the armchair she'd sat in. "My parents are handling that. Mom's been making a fortune off our misfortunes. What criminal doesn't want a Pretty Little Liars mom defending them? So she's using some of those ill gotten funds to keep the press away. And dad isn't afraid to throw many to the cause since he's always hoping loads of cash will make up for all of his past transgressions."

"Bribery. It's the DiLaurentis/Hastings way," Alison sing-songed. "He tried that with me too, did you know?"

Spencer nodded. "He did. He also told me that you shot him down, gave him a few ideas for what he could do with any excess cash. I never figured out if you gave him sincere suggestions or if it was a 'shove it where the sun don't shine' kind of thing."

Alison pulled her legs up under her. "You know that dad, my dad, didn't react well to the paralytic CeCe shot him up with, right? I took care of him for awhile but then it got to be too much. I tried home health care, anything to keep him out of a facility. It might have worked out if Jason would've been able to help to. But we've just been through too much. So dad's in an assisted living facility a few towns over and Mr. Hastings is helping pay for it."

"And Jason?" Aria asked.

"He started drinking right after he was released from the hospital. Understandable though since he thought CeCe was our brother. The drug use started up again when we found out she wasn't. The whole thing broke Jason and he's been so paranoid about everything, even after they found Charles's remains."

"I didn't know that," Spencer whispered. "I've talked to him off and on over the years but he never said he was having problems."

Ali's smile was wry. "Denial. Another DiLaurentis specialty."

"Has he gotten better at all?" Emily asked when Alison stared into her wineglass and didn't say anything else.

Ali shook her head and refocused on the conversation. "He's been in and out of rehab, more out than in lately thank goodness. He's been doing landscaping and some PR at the country club since March. They're easing into giving him more responsibilities. I mean it's understandable why he's so screwed up, I'm surprised we're not all medicated and locked up in an asylum, but there's only so much an employer can tolerate, you know?"

The other girls nodded and fell silent. Then Alison smiled and spoke up again. "And tonight should be good for Jason. He's hanging out with your hubby-to-be Spence."

"Really?" Spencer asked in surprise. "I knew Caleb was invited but not anyone else."

"Caleb said he was asked to invite Ezra and Toby too," Hanna spoke up.

Aria frowned. "Isn't that a little weird Spencer? Your fiancé and your ex? And my ex and Jason who kissed me that one time…god, that has to be one uncomfortable gathering."

Spencer frowned too, then shrugged. "Like I said, I knew Caleb was invited. And Jason makes sense too since he's technically family but Ezra and Toby? That's a little weird. I didn't even know they still lived around here."

"Ezra just came back late last year because one of the literature professors at Hollis went on medical leave. Since it was the middle of a semester they were hoping to find someone already familiar with the university so I had Robert track down Ezra and he was surprisingly free. He stayed on when the other teacher chose not to come back," Ali explained.

Aria quickly changed the subject from Ezra. Talking about him was just too painful. They'd exchanged a few texts and emails after she'd left for university but even those had stopped after a couple of months. "I still think that's a weird coincidence though. You at Rosewood High and your husband teaching at Hollis. That situation just seems so familiar to me for some reason."

The girls all chuckled and then Spencer drained the rest of her glass. "And Toby?" she asked, all nonchalant.

"He never left Rosewood. I talk to him sometimes," Alison said. "After the DNA results proved CeCe wasn't Charles…well he could only assume she lied about other things."

"Like what happened to his mother," Emily whispered.

"Exactly," Alison nodded. "So he stuck around in hopes that he can somehow find something that was missed before. Not that he's on the police force. He actually owns a construction company that seems to be doing pretty well."

"Maybe I should call him," Spencer announced. "With his history as an officer and my detective skills maybe we can finally get to the bottom of everything that happened at Radley."

"Or you could just focus on you this weekend and think on that when you haven't had a few glasses of wine," Aria suggested. "I mean, is it really a good idea to plan stuff with an ex when you should be focusing on wedding stuff?"

"And didn't you apply to the FBI or something?" Hanna asked. "I think you already have enough on your plate right now."

"But that's the great thing about it! If I helped solve a cold case with cover ups and unreliable witnesses then the FBI would have to hire me!"

The girls were trying to figure out how to calm her down when the doorbell rang. Spencer frowned again and looked around. "We didn't order food yet, did we?"

"We haven't…" Emily said.

Hanna blushed. "I may have invited someone," she admitted just seconds before the door slid open to reveal Mona Vanderwaal.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: Here's the next installment and things are starting to get juicy!**

* * *

Mona smiled and awkwardly waved with one hand, a package tucked under her other arm. When no one but Hanna responded the dark haired girl frowned at her. "I thought you told them I was coming."

"I did. When you rang the bell," Hanna admitted, looking sheepish.

Spencer didn't exactly leap up out of her seat but she did finally smile. "Come in Mona, it's fine. We were just surprised. How have you been?"

Mona, not having seen any of the girls but Hanna since the horrible days of CeCe's trial, addressed the elephant in the room. "Far better than I would have been if you'd have told the cops about Bethany."

"No one told the cops about me and Shana so why would we expose you?" Aria said, her voice tight.

Hanna spoke up, her voice chipper enough to break through the sudden gloom at the reminder of how much they'd all been through. "Mona's been using her freedom to get even smarter if you can believe that."

"I'm working on three Master's degrees," Mona said. "Psychology, biology and technology. I'm thinking of going into forensics or criminal profiling."

"Dear Lord. And I thought I was an overachiever," Spencer spoke up then blushed. "Did I say that out loud? Sorry. That wasn't meant to sound so bitchy."

Mona just laughed. "Doesn't matter." She took a seat and then jumped back up again and handed Spencer the package she'd had tucked under her arm.

"You didn't have to bring me any˗"

"I didn't," Mona interrupted. "I found it by the front door. I'm guessing it's a present for your shower. It's got your name on it and everything."

Spencer turned the package over and over her hands, a mischievous grin blossoming across her face. "It wouldn't hurt to open just one early, right?"

"Go for it," Emily encouraged. The rest of the girls nodded so Spencer pulled the tab on the cardboard box, tore through the layers of parchment, and revealed a small hardcover book.

Hanna wrinkled her nose. "Who would give a book as a wedding present?"

Spencer didn't answer, instead she pulled an envelope out from in between the cover and the first page.

"Who's it from?" Mona asked as Spencer scanned the card. Before she could even really finish her question Spencer gasped and the book fell from her hands.

Emily reached out to pick up the items, her heart pounding and her hand shaking at Spencer's reaction.

"What's it say?" Aria whispered.

Emily looked to Spencer, only reading the card once Spence nodded. "'Charles is still alive but if you're reading this I'm not. If you want to know the truth, the real truth, then read my journal. But I'm warning you now, you won't like what I have to say. Kisses, Cecelia Drake.'"

The other girls gasped but only Ali leapt to her feet. "Is this some kind of sick joke? And if it's not, why would CeCe send that to Spencer and not me?"

Spencer snorted even though she felt sick to her stomach. "Really Ali? That's your problem with this?"

"What we should really be asking is whether or not we should believe her or if we should just assume she's lying. Again," Emily said as she stared at the book she still clutched in her hand. The other girls could only imagine that Emily was thinking of Sara, who, during the trial had admitted to having worked with CeCe of her free will just not to the extent that CeCe had claimed. There had been lies upon lies.

"We should turn it into the police," Aria suggested.

"And get publically dragged back into this mess?" Mona scoffed. "No thank you."

"But if CeCe really does, did, know something…" Hanna trailed off.

"Shut up, all of you," Spencer barked. When the others turned to her they found her standing a few feet away with her phone to her ear. Her voice was too low to hear but it was only minutes before she was back in her seat with her phone in her lap.

"My mother confirmed that CeCe really is dead. The asylum thinks it was an overdose but they're still investigating. That's why we hadn't heard about it yet."

"So what do we want to do about this?" Emily asked as she waved the notebook around.

Spencer leaned over and pulled it out of her hands. "We read it and turn it over to the cops if it sounds legit. If not, we forget about it."

"Shouldn't the guys be here to hear this too? Just in case?" Hanna asked.

The others nodded but let Spencer speak up. "Hanna, call Caleb. Have him bring the guys over."

"And I'll ask him to pick up a couple pizzas," Hanna said. When everyone looked at her funny she made a face right back. "I'm pregnant. I can't just skip meals because crazy shit is going down," she said as she pulled her phone out of her pocket and pulled herself off the couch.

"I'm going to call Jason and tell him not to come," Ali announced. "It's just…if she's spouting lies again I don't want to upset him. And if she's not…"

"It'll probably be better for his mental health if he hears it from you and without an audience," Emily said.

"You're being all therapisty," Hanna observed as she returned from making her phone call.

Emily rolled her eyes. "I'm a physical therapist, not a shrink."

Spencer interrupted before Hanna could retort. "Call Jason, Ali. The sooner we get this over with, the better."


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: Okay, here goes! Now the section in Italics is from CeCe's journal, only it's not exactly written in journal format. You'll see when you get there and I hope you like it!**

* * *

It was a tense thirty minutes until the guys showed up with three cheesy pizzas in hand.

There were awkward smiles and hugs while Toby, Caleb, and Ezra said hello to everyone but that didn't last long once the pizza boxes were opened.

They were already settling into their seats, pizza in the hands of everyone but Spencer when she realized someone was missing. "Where's ˗"

"Oh yeah," Caleb said with his mouth full. "There was an emergency in Philly. Your hubby-to-be will be back as soon as he can."

Emily looked at Spencer. "Do we do this without him?" she asked.

Ezra looked back and forth between the girls, confusion wrinkling his brow. "Do what exactly? I thought this was just a reunion. Is that wrong?"

Spencer took a deep breath and then let it out in a rush. "This can't wait," she said as she leaned over the living room table to hand CeCe's journal to Toby.

He put his plate on the table and reached for the book. It only took him a few seconds to read the note and a curse fell from his lips once he'd finished. "It's CeCe's diary or something," he told the guys. "She says Charles isn't dead and that reading this will prove his identity."

"And Spencer called her mom. CeCe really did die in that asylum so that part of the note, the 'if you're reading this it means I'm dead' thing, is true," Aria said.

"So what do we do now?" Caleb asked.

Spencer held her hand out to Toby and he returned the diary. "We read it. Then we can go to the police," she said. Then she flipped to the first page and started reading without waiting for a response from the others.

Surprisingly enough, her voice didn't waver a bit as the secrets were unfurled.

* * *

 _Cecelia Addison Drake was just eight years old when she pushed her little brother down the stairs. She hadn't meant to really hurt him, or so she told her parents, but that's what happened all the same. The coma lasted two weeks. The brain damage would be permanent._

 _Her parents shipped her off to Radley Sanitarium, two hours away from the family home, and didn't look back for two years because of the incident._

 _But then, two years into her hospitalization and just days after a meeting with her parents (they were talking about letting her go home!) she met Him. Charles DiLaurentis, a little blonde haired blue eyed boy who had tried to drown his baby sister._

 _For CeCe, it was love at first sight._

 _Less than two hours after her first glimpse of the boy CeCe slapped her therapist across the face, effectively ending her parents desire to bring her back into their lives. Clearly she was just as unsettled as her parents had always suspected._

 _CeCe, Charles, and Bethany became the best of friends, a relationship made even easier by the fact that all of Bethany's personalities seemed to like Charles. It was as harmonious a friendship as one could have in a sanitarium._

 _But it was even better than mere friendship because Charles had a mother who loved him and visited often. When she heard of his friends and found out that their families never visited, Mrs. DiLaurentis started inviting Bethany and CeCe to spend time with her and Charles. The year after that she hired a private tutor for all three children and even bought them new clothes so they would look presentable during their sessions. She was a mother to them all._

 _So they studied everything and read anything they could get their hands on and Charles was good at games and learning, proving himself to have an extraordinary IQ and an eidetic memory. CeCe was a whiz with anything computer related. But Bethany…well she loved trying._

 _They also played games. Oh how they'd play! Board games, card games, games they'd invented themselves. Anything that worked their troubled minds, almost like they were trying to prove they weren't broken._

 _Without even realizing it, CeCe's happiness spilled out into her therapy sessions and she was being congratulated on how well she'd turned her life around. Thanks to her tutor she'd earned her GED and been accepted to the university he'd had her apply to. It was enough of an improvement that the Radley board had decided to release her on her eighteenth birthday, just in time for her to go to college using the scholarship Mrs. DiLaurentis had funded._

 _The only catch was that CeCe didn't want to go. She didn't want to leave her Charles, especially not alone with Bethany. And she was afraid that Charles would get worse without her._

 _It wasn't that Charles was crazy. He just had trouble separating fiction from reality. To him, everything was a game and anything was possible, thoughts that explained why he'd often don a white coat and pretend to be a doctor. He wanted to be one so he was one._

 _But he was proud of her and wanted her to get out while she could so she did. She turned eighteen and was all set to go to college when she heard a name in a boutique. DiLaurentis. Of course. Charles had family he didn't know, family who didn't know him._

 _So CeCe got to know them for him. She dated Jason and made friends with Alison and their mother couldn't say a damn thing without exposing her own dirty little secret to her oblivious children._

 _Then CeCe visited Radley near Charles's twenty-first birthday (she'd wanted to visit earlier but her psychologist had insisted she give everyone time to adjust before she returned as a guest) and everything changed. She, Charles, and Bethany snuck up to the roof late at night even though CeCe was supposed to have left and they certainly weren't allowed on the roof. That's when the incident happened._

 _Marion Cavanaugh interrupted them, telling them that the roof wasn't safe. When she tried to convince them to follow the rules Charles pushed her off the roof in a fit of rage. Without even talking about it first CeCe and Charles said the same thing when questioned: Bethany did it._

 _The false claim, believed and covered up by the Radley board, sent Bethany swiveling even further into madness and she attacked Charles more than once. But, thanks to the contract Bethany's parents had signed, the facility couldn't transfer her. So a decision between Mrs. DiLaurentis and the Radley staff and board was made. Charles was allowed to leave whenever he wanted, to get away from Bethany, as long as he slept at Radley each night._

 _And that situation seemed to be going great until the day CeCe received a frantic phone call that she would never forget. Charles's shaky voice told her that Bethany had snapped yet again, only she wasn't planning on attacking Charles himself. No, she'd escaped Radley and left a note behind, a note proclaiming her target. Mrs. DiLaurentis._

 _When CeCe and Charles arrived at the DiLaurentis's home it was almost too late. Bethany had beaten them there and was already walking towards the side door. Charles did what he had to do to save his mother, not discovering his mistake until the blonde fell to the grass and his mother rushed out of the house. He'd hit Alison, the little sister he'd never really gotten to know._

 _It wasn't until the next morning, after CeCe had watched Charles and Mrs. D bury Ali, that they realized Bethany was still missing. And CeCe realized that she'd dropped her phone at the scene of the crime._


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note: In the real world the next little section wouldn't be very believable but in the PLL world I think it works. Just one more chapter left after this but don't worry, you don't have to wait until then to find out who A is ;) I hope you enjoy this very revealing chapter.**

* * *

"Why's the phone so important?" Ali whispered, her voice cracking.

Spencer quickly scanned the next few pages and then looked up in shock. "CeCe wanted to prove that Bethany was crazy so she filmed the attack at the DiLaurentis house. But she dropped her phone when Charles did what he did."

A stunned silence fell until Aria finally said what they were all thinking. "There's a video of what happened that night. I can't believe it."

"Her phone died somewhere in the middle of the night but she ended up catching more on tape than she'd bargained for. Charles hitting Ali. Charles and Mrs. D. burying Ali. How Ali was pulled out of the dirt. Even Melissa burying Bethany," Spencer said as she raced through even more pages.

Everyone stared at Spencer, waiting for her to continue. "And what happened to the video?" Emily finally asked.

Spencer was shaking too much (in nervousness and excitement) that she had to pass the diary off to Aria who picked up where the other girl left off. After a quick perusal she spoke up. "It's in your room Spence. CeCe said she made sure it was in your secret hiding spot."

"Why my room?"

"Don't question it!" Hanna shrieked. "Go find it so we can see who Charles is once and for all!"

Spencer didn't need to be told a second time. She uncrossed her legs and raced up the stairs. No one said a word until she rushed back down five minutes later. "It's on a flash drive!" she announced so Caleb quickly pulled out his laptop.

"Where was it?" Emily asked as the computer booted up.

"Under the loose floorboard in my closet where I used to hide things, right where she said it would be. Which doesn't make sense because I know I emptied that out before college so Lord only knows how it got there."

"I've got it!" Caleb announced then waited to hit play once everyone had gathered around the living room table where he'd placed the computer.

He hit play and suddenly CeCe's face took up his screen, her long blonde hair curling over the yellow top they all recognized from "that night." She was walking through the woods, presumable in between the Hastings and DiLaurentis's yards. Since she was holding her phone the camera was shaky but then she stopped and adjusted until it became very clear that she was at the scene of the crime that would be committed later that night.

"This is Cecelia Drake and tonight I'm getting proof that Bethany Young needs to be sent far away from Rosewood. She's a dange, not just to other Radley patients but to the families of Radley patients."

The camera switched from CeCe's face to a view of a blonde girl who looked eerily like her, at least from behind. The person was facing the DiLaurentis house, watching Veronica who was just on the other side of the window.

The blonde had taken just one step forward when a figure in a black hoodie appeared behind her and a rock was thrown. "Charles, what did you do?" CeCe shrieked. It was at that point that the phone fell. It landed with an audible thump but the camera didn't turn off, landing just feet away from Alison's bloodied forehead in a way that looked purposeful, artistic almost.

Unintelligible cries and door slams were heard and then three pairs of legs were shown crowding around Ali's prone body. Then Mrs. DiLaurentis hunched over her daughter, tears falling from her eyes. She checked for a pulse with shaking hands and then looked up at the figures standing next to her. "I can't lose you both. We'll have to bury her Charles," she choked out.

Charles took his time bending down, almost as though he knew he were being filmed and the Liars would be watching the film years later. More of his jeans appeared in the shot, then the black hoodie, and then he was pushing said hood back and his face was finally exposed.

Emily screamed and everyone else gasped except for Spencer. She just froze as her stomach churned and her mind revolted against the revelation.

It was Wren. Wren Kingston was Charles DiLaurentis. The same Wren Kingston that had given Spencer the sparkling diamond ring on her left hand.

"What the f˗"

"Now now, no need for that type of language," an unfamiliar voice called from the front door. A door that no one had heard open while they'd been enthralled by the revelatory video. And then suddenly Wren appeared out of the darkness and leant against the doorframe just as casually as could be.

"I'd say congratulations on finally solving the mystery but you wouldn't deserve it. I can't believe CeCe had to do it for you!" he crowed, his voice lacking any trace of the British accent everyone in the room was used to.

When Toby went to stand up Wren slammed the door shut and pulled a gun out of the back of his pants. "You are going to listen to me. I mean, don't you want to know how I did everything? Especially you Spencer. And Ali, my beautiful baby sister. Now if only Jason were here to make the reunion complete," he trilled.

"He won't be coming," Ali spat out. She was clearly angry but there was a touch of relief there too and the other girls knew exactly what she was thinking. At least Jason would be spared from whatever was about to happen.

Wren chuckled. "Oh but he will be." He'd just taken a step away from the door and into the room when the door slammed open and Jason rushed in, his eyes wild.

"What's wr˗"

Wren swept Jason's legs out from beneath him and then pulled him up to his knees, the gun to Jason's head before he could even finish his sentence. "Hello, little brother."

Jason's eyes were wide and he locked his gaze with Alia who slowly nodded. "I…I think he's telling the truth Jason. I think he really is Charles."

"But how? Why?" Spencer sputtered.

In the silence after her question the sudden noise from Caleb's computer was horrendous. They all turned as one and winced when they saw Bethany laying there, her hair matted with blood much like Ali's had been. The video had continued without them.

"Turn that off," Wren commanded. "And let me tell you a story."

Caleb paused the video with one finger and quickly hit record with another. Since the laptop wasn't aimed towards Wren they wouldn't get a visual but they'd get audio evidence of the conversation that was about to happen.

"Okay Wre˗Charles. Tell us your story," Hanna whispered.


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note: Here's the final chapter! It's a little different than I'd typically write something like this but I hope you like it! And um...sorry about the ending!**

* * *

Charles nodded, practically vibrating in his excitement as he filled in some of the blanks CeCe had left. He bounced on his toes while somehow managing to keep the gun directed at his brother's head the whole time.

And just to make things even more confusing he chose to talk about himself in the third person.

"After Mrs. Cavanaugh's death and Bethany's subsequent breakdown Charles was given more leeway than ever. He used that, his mother's money, and CeCe's computer skills to get himself accepted to college, pre-med of course since he'd always thought himself a doctor.

It was on his way to freshman orientation that he ran into the perfect opportunity to take himself even further. That opportunity was a very nice, very naïve British man who was in America for his residency.

So Charles skipped his orientation and took Wren Kingston out for coffee. A few hours later and the Brit, an orphaned trust fund baby, was dead and Charles had a new identity. The best part? Wren had already looked so much like a DiLaurentis that Charles didn't even have to have CeCe make him a new ID.

It was surprisingly easy to pull off, the murder and becoming Wren. CeCe helped of course but Charles had that eidetic memory after all so it was easy to convince everyone that he was Oxford trained.

Getting away with murder made him wonder, how far could he take it before he got caught? That's how and why he first started up with Melissa and then Spencer. It was all part of his game.

And then he'd played therapist to Mona, CeCe helping when he needed her to. That had been fun, all the sneaking around and fake IDs it took for Charles and Wren to both be in Radley at the same time. It helped that, by then, Mrs. D. knew all about it and she vouched for "Wren." Why wouldn't she help out her son? It's not like playing doctor was worse than covering up a murdered sister.

So through his sessions with Mona he learned all about the game and then he took it from Mona and began torturing the girls in her stead. He had always loved games and Mona had started a fantastic one. And with CeCe's help with technology and Wren's medical license he'd been able to play oh so well.

Bones, blood, access to the hospital all made it so much easier to taunt the girls who had pretended to care for his sister but really hadn't. He, Charles, was supposed to be the one who knew all of Ali's secrets. He was supposed to be the one who haunted her. Not the girls the media called the Pretty Little Liars.

It was about winning the game but it was also about revenge. Sweet, sweet revenge.

It wasn't even that hard to go after them because he had accomplices. CeCe was so in love with him that she did anything and everything he asked. Melissa Hastings even helped him out a time or two after the night she drank so much that she'd admitted to covering up the fact that Spencer had killed Ali/Bethany. Of course Charles knew otherwise but it was easier to control Melissa when she thought her dirty little secret was even dirtier then it was.

Oh and there was also the blackmail of the NAT Club which had been fun while it lasted. Then Ian and Garrett got a little too nosy so he got rid of the former and CeCe took care of the latter.

And then the liars got too close to discovering the truth and Charles didn't want the game to end so he used CeCe. She became Charles and she took the fall for him."

"So why reveal it all now?" Jason asked when Charles fell silent.

"I decided that games aren't fun if you're the only one playing. I was hoping CeCe's death would get everything going again, not realizing she'd spoil it by giving you all the answers."

"Murder and incest are just a game to you?" Emily shrieked.

Spencer blanched. She hadn't even thought of that aspect but it made sense. Ali and Jason were her father's so it only stood to reason that… "Oh god, I'm going to be sick."

Charles laughed. "Oh, is that what you're so worried about? I won't deny the fact that I'm a murderer but there has been no incest committed. The timelines don't match up for me to be part Hastings. No, I'm the only legitimate DiLaurentis child there is."

Spencer couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. It was still bad of course, he was a psychopathic murderer but at least he wasn't also her half brother.

"Was the game supposed to end with you getting caught?" Caleb asked. He wanted to keep Charles talking in hopes that someone would be able to figure out how to get them all out of the mess they were in.

"Yes and no. I wanted all of you to figure it out, on your own of course, which you didn't. I am so so disappointed. But by the authorities? I'm too good for that. Just ask CeCe!"

"Then maybe you should have made sure we were alone before you showed your face tonight," Spencer said just as Melissa flew down the last couple stairs and swung a baseball bat. Charles crumpled and Jason wrenched the gun from his brother's hand before it could cause any further problems.

"Oh my god, why didn't you do that earlier?" Hanna choked out.

"How long have you even been here?" Emily asked as Toby slid off the couch and approached Charles's unconscious form.

Melissa shrugged. She looked all nonchalant but was shaking so hard the bat fell from her hands. "I've been here all day but I had a headache so I didn't come down. When Spencer was upstairs looking for the flash drive I started to worry. Nothing ever ended well where CeCe was concerned so I kept my ears open."

"But to repeat what Hanna said, why didn't you hit him earlier?" Ali asked, her eyes not moving from where Toby, with Jason's help, were securing Charles's wrists with one of their belts.

"I figured we needed a full confession in front of witnesses. I can't picture him being so forthcoming with the police."

Caleb's grin was wide. "Actually, I got everything on tape."

"Then let's call those cops."

* * *

 _Eyes on Rosewood, A Blog_

 _May 24_ _th_ _, 2017_

 _It's the case that won't stay closed._

 _Rosewood was rocked once again and of course the infamous Pretty Little Liars were involved. Only this time the case will, at least officially if not in the eyes of the public, be closed for good._

 _Thanks to a rushed DNA scan there's proof that Charles DiLaurentis, contrary to the late Cecelia Drake's claims, is indeed alive and has been living under the assumed name of Wren Kingston. Yes, the very same Wren Kingston who Spencer Hastings was set to marry later this year._

 _Now how did he manage to get away with so much for so long? By using the three m's: money, manipulation, and murder!_

 _What about those remains Ms. Drake had the Feds dig up last year? The answer lies in England where Charles, under his assumed name, was in a little accident that necessitated a few pulled teeth and a rod to replace a shattered radius. A little case of theft and smuggling later and voilia! Enough evidence in the form of teeth and bone shards to call his burial site legit. Clever, huh?_

 _To wrap up: yes, Charles has been caught. Yes, he is a murderer and a psychopath. And yes, if you went to Radley, Rosewood High, or the hospitals in Philly or Rosewood in the last decade then you may have run into him. Just think on that when you go to bed tonight._

 _Post by Don'tHatethePlayer_

Mona signed off the blog and shut down her computer, a wide smile blossoming across her face.

She'd taught Charles well.


End file.
